Throughout the album, you can tell that the guys have really thought about song structure and done their best to include a vast array of different patterns and arrangements that are important because after listening to the full album, it seems as though the guitar is the main force behind their music. Songs like ‘The Black Abyss’ and ‘Ectogenises,’ as a result, are in your face and really pack a punch with the tight nip riffs. The vocals seem to borrow a lot from the traditional death metal style which adds another layer of hardness to the already heavy music. ‘Carrion Eater,’ which was also made into a music video, offers a slightly different style and features more clean cut traditional heavy metal elements. While the track is still full of that angsty thrash edge, there’s a lot more melody brought into the mix, particularly at the opening, whose riff sounds as though it should belong on a 1980’s, Iron Maiden record.
Sludgehammer’s debut record is a throwback of sorts. Not only do they bring back that classic thrash sound that derived from the 80s but the raw production really helps to give their music an old school feel to it. While many bands today strive to aim for the cleanest, swankiest production possible, Sludgehammer’s is a little rough around the edges but that makes the sound more raw and brutal. This is especially evident in tracks such as ‘Carnivorous Forest’ because when the guitar goes into full force, it doesn’t sound crisp but a more grizzly texture and everything sounds distorted as a result, similar to the typical doom metal guitar style.
Besides the impressive onslaught of dual guitar and song structures throughout, however, Sludgehammer give nothing new here at all and because of that, the album is pretty average. You’ll really enjoy it if you love thrash, particularly bands like Destruction, Kreator and Exodus, but I don’t think that this will impress the masses. Towards the end of the record, Sludgehammer had worn out their welcome as things began to get rather repetative It didn’t appear to me really until the final track, ‘Revolting,’ how uninspiring their sound really was, they definitely really too much on clichés. And the two bonus tracks, ‘Organ Harvester’ and ‘Casualties’ are just as forgettable. This isn’t me saying that this is a bad album, it’s just me saying that The Fallen Sun is just an average attempt. However, I can see that the band do have a great amount of potential and if they spend more time working on their individual sound rather than spending it writing mediocre guitar solos, they could really have something special here.
Track listing:
- Demons from the woodwork
- Intestines Entwined
- The Black Abyss
- Ectognesis
- Carrion Eater
- Consuming Afterbirth
- Carnivorous Forest
- Utopian
- Revolting
- Organ Harvester (bonus track)
- Casualties (bonus track
Release date: 14th June 2016
Website: https://www.reverbnation.com/sludgehammer7
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Scandinavia is a part of the world that’s known for producing a lot of killer metal bands and this melodic death metal duo, Hour of Anguish, keep the Swedish flag high for heavy metal. Founded by Andreas Henriksson and Richard Potts, Hour of Anguish was established in 2015 but after listening to their debut album you wouldn’t expect that they’re such a young band because they demonstrate such a high level of maturity in Solace of Sorrow.
The opening song on any debut album is incredibly important because it properly introduces your audience to your band’s sound. ‘Blisters,’ does its job well and introduces the listener to Hour of Anguish’s traditional melodic death metal sound. It features that trademark chunky guitar you’d expect from any extreme metal act as well as the provocative melodies that draw you in and get stuck in your head. Yet the explosive drums give the track a hard edge.
As the album continues the band slowly unleashes it’s heavier side onto the listener. Tracks like ‘Countdown to the end’ and ‘Farewell to the flesh’ seriously pack a punch with lots of vicious chord progression and rely heavily on speed as well as an aggressive drum beat. What makes this band stand out from the rest of the crowd in what is such an over saturated market nowadays, is that they draw influences from other genres rather than solely sticking to melodic death metal tropes that have become severely tiresome in recent years. While some believe that groove metal is a bad label to be attached too, for these guys the groove metal elements do them justice particularly in tracks such as ‘Hateful, Hollow’ and ‘Rise.’ These cohesive tracks consist’s both of enticing melodies and interesting song structure which illustrates the band’s strong musicianship.
Elsewhere, the band take a poetic approach to their lyrics which makes their songs even more engaging. The beautiful metaphors and descriptive lyrics paint vivid images in your head of a bleak and destructive world. A good example is, the previously mentioned Countdown to the End, which does a good job in creating a big atmosphere from the apocalyptic world it pictures in lyrics such as ‘close your eyes and see the end.’ Furthermore, Hour of Anguish not only manage to achieve brilliantly written lyrics but also manage to get the right balance of melodic and death metal so that it’s heavy enough for the veteran extreme metal listener especially with the abrasive growls, but also enjoyable for those who prefer the more traditional squeaky clean melodic driven guitar sound of heavy metal. Thus making this album accessible for the majority of the metal community.
Possibly the most disappointing thing about the album despite all the praise I’ve given it so far is how repetitive it becomes especially towards the end. You get the same sort of chord progression and chorus’s which all sound like clones to one another and as a result of that the enjoyment from the listening experience is definitely dampened. It just felt like the band ran out of ideas and because of this the songs feel slightly uninspiring in places. Luckily, however, the irresistible melodies and marvellous atmosphere keep you listening until the end, so things don’t get too tiresome. Regardless of this criticism, the album ends on a high note with the last two tracks ‘The Silence’ and ‘Throne of Gods,’ showing that the band have a little more dynamic when it comes to song structure.
Overall, Hour of Anguish have produced a pretty solid album and especially as a first record, it’s something to be proud of. Especially with how tight and solid all the tracks are. Yes, the band do need to work on bringing different song structures and melodies into the mix but besides from that, Solace of Sorrow shows that they have great potential as a band and I hope to see more quality work from these guys in the future.
Track listing:
- Blisters
- Countdown to the end
- Farewell to the flesh
- Hateful, Hollow
- Ouroboros
- Rise
- Sepia
- Sleep eternal
- The Road to Hell
- The Silence
- Throne of the gods
Playing time: 50:00
Release date: 31st May 2016
Record label: Unsigned
Website: http://www.hourofanguish.com/
]]>First up are progressive black metal outlet Moonsorrow who offer a rather theatrical set. The band begin their set with the sound of an orchestral pagan style instrumental piece before marching on stage covered in blood and corpse paint. With all of this alongside the moody atmospherical lighting, these guys definitely set the scene. Moonsorrow’s sound really sparks a fire in the crowd causing circle pits, fists pumping, sweat flowing and of course mass head banging. While they’re definitely not a sing along band, considering all their songs are in Finnish, the band still manage to have their thumb wrapped around the audience for the majority of the set. However, with most of their songs having a duration of over 10 minutes it’s pretty hard to tell when one song finishes and another one begins and that can become pretty tiresome. Overall, Moonsorrow delivered a solid set musically but regards to how entertaining it was things got a little stale over time.
Korpiklaani are a band known to have a party atmosphere when it comes the their live shows and tonight they really prove this. While most of their songs are still in English the up lifting beats and anthem like chorus’s really gets the crowd going. Somehow the band even manage to get the crowd in a circle bit during slow songs like ‘Lempo.’ Korpiklaani are great to watch live because their songs have fast beats and happy melodies and that really gets you dancing, particularly during songs like ‘Viinamean Mies’ and ‘Pilli On Pajusta Tehty.’ The band show their strong musicianship as each member gives off the same amount of enthusiasm, especially their accordion players and violinist who run around the stage effortlessly performing each song pristinely. Lead vocalist, Jonne Jarvela, may not be the best at crowd interaction but his activeness on stage along with the party beer hall style music does all that for him. As expected the band end their lively set with drinking anthem, ‘Vodka’ and during this performance there’s a coincidental smell of this fine spirit in the air. Furthermore, there’s not one person pumping their fists in the air and singing along to the vibrant chorus. It was a great and memorable way to end the show.
Overall, while Moonsorrow weren’t the most exciting live band they still provided the crowd with a quality set musically and the theatrics made their presence this evening memorable. Korpiklaani, however, were by far the best band of the night as they provided the best atmosphere and the crowd’s reaction to their set says it all.
Rating: 70/100
Words by Megan McMillan
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Under Attack is fuelled mainly by speed, grittiness as well as an anarchist attitude and although Destruction’s sound may rely on powerful speedy guitar work but it’s nothing like power metal-one of Germany’s biggest metal exploits-it’s not pretty or flashy. Moreover, the band have provided 12 solid tracks on their 14th full-length album; all are filled with the expected spine tingling spider webby guitar solos, vicious vocal work and pounding, machine gun drums. The album starts off with the title track that has the makings of an anthem, with the gigantic chorus and riffs that are powered both by groove and speed. This short but sweet track is definitely one of the album’s highlights.
Under Attack starts off on a high note and continues to go strong. Every song is a showcase of the band’s amazing musicianship from the throwback track, ‘Getting used to the Evil’ which is a masterful blend of melody and thrash riffs-think of the punk elements that were embodied in 80s Anthrax to the wonderous melodies crafted by Megadeth in the 90s-to ‘Pathogenic’ which consists of nothing but mind blowingly fast guitar solos and a solid groove that keeps the track tightly nipped together. Other tracks such as ‘Second to None’ shows off the rebellious side of the band and is fired by pure attitude. The lightning bolt guitar provided by Mike Sifringer really compliments Marcel Schirmer’s bold vocals. He does everything from mean grunts and screeching Rob Halford esque vocals. The band’s cover of ‘Black Metal’ serves Schirmer’s voice justice because it really shows how diverse his pipes are not to mention that he does a pretty good job of imitating Cronos’s vocals on this legendary track.
While this is a really enjoyable album, particularly for the avid thrasher, the problem with the sub-genre is that there’s so many limitations and that doesn’t allow for much diversity in style. Yes Destruction do have elements of punk, grove metal and thrash mixed together during the album, but there’s not much of a range of song structure or lyrics which is fairly disappointing. However, that is really the only query of Under Attack. Ultimately, Destruction have carved a quality album and Under Attack shows why the band are considered part of big 4 in the German metal scene.
Track listing:
- Under attack
- Generation nevermore
- Dethroned
- Getting used to the Evil
- Pathogenic
- Elegant pigs
- Second to None
- Stand up for what you deliver
- Conductor of the void
- Stigmatized
- Black Metal
- Thrash attack
Playing time: 53:00
Release date: 13th May 2016
Record label: Nuclear blast
Website: http://destruction.de/
]]>The EP starts off with the soft and hauntingly melodic track, ‘Breathe.’ Breathe is just a quick injection of the musical genius to come from Blood Youth, however. The dreamy, atmospheric track is a minority as the rest of the tracks are all straight to the point and hard hitting. For instance, the edgy ’24/7′ verges more on the hard core side of things flaring elements of attitude fuelled punk. Yet while ‘Mood Swing’ dips into hard core sounds it’s very much comprised of addictive melodies that you’d expect from alternative rock outlets such as Mallory Knox.
Whether you like them or not, there’s no denying that Blood Youth truly have a knack for song writing. Every song on their sophomore EP sounds like it’s made for the radio. That’s how cohesive and incredibly catchy they are. In particular the title track which has one standout guitar hook throughout the majority of the song that gets stuck in your head and seduces you, beckoning you for repeat listens.
I find that EPs are often hit or a miss as sometimes they’ll contain only one or two good songs that will become singles and the rest getting forgotten by fans. But every song on Closure is a gem and ones more the EP serves as a show case of both the musicianship on display here and their incredible song writing talent. The only complaint I have about the EP is that I wish it was longer! I can’t wait to see a full length album from this band one day. With the band already making appearances at well renowned festivals such as Hevyfest and Download, if they keep producing such high quality content, Blood Youth could eventually become a house hold name within their sub genre.
Track listing:
- Breathe
- 24/7
- Mood Swing
- Closure
Label: Rude Records
Website: http://bloodyouth.uk
]]>From the get go I was impressed with the band’s riffing skills. The introductory title track is a great showcase of their talent as it’s comprised of beautifully melodic and polished guitar solos. As the album goes on you can hear the different musical influences come in. While ‘Save my World’ has more a more theatrical, power metal vibe to it with the big chorus and a fantasy theme, ‘My Shineshine,’ is the band’s take on a classic 80s power ballad fitted with the expected romantic melodies and cheesy lyrics about love. Vocalist, Joseph Michael, is incredibly dynamic and can range anywhere from a husky bluesy tone to an emotionally driven high pitched tone of voice. His voice changes as the patterns of music change. And as each song progresses the listener is provided with dense layers of music.
One thing that people won’t like about Desert Dragon is that they seem to rely so much on heavy metal cliches. Their lyrics particularly are incredibly uninspiring and sound like they’ve been borrowed from old 80s heavy metal records, particularly in tracks like ‘Loving You’ where the lyrics feel like they’re there there just for the sake of having lyrics. They’re all fantastic musicians who together have created some great tracks with killer grooves but in order for the band to truly succeed they need to break away from some of these cliches and find their own voice.
Desert Dragon are not a band that you’d expect a typical black metal fan to be listening too because Before the Storm is the sort of record that you’d put on one hot summer’s day while you’re driving down the highway. There’s nothing melancholy here. The music is bright and happy and the sort of thing you’d listen too if you needed a pick me up. Finally, what Desert Dragon do they do well, but the one thing they really need to do is work on refining their sound and become more creative with lyrics and themes. Overall though, a great first effort from the Californian five piece.
Track listing:
- Desert Dragon
- Save my World
- Desert Horizons
- We the People
- Take it Easy Now
- Flying High
- Slow Groove
- My Sunshine
- Kicking Down
- Loving You
- Call an Angel
Length: 43:00
Record Label: Sliptrick Records
Website: http://desertdragonofficial.com/
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Their first full length album, is a very strong effort from the band. It’s a short but sweet album with 9 interesting songs on offer here. It starts off typically, with a beautifully haunting instrumental piece, ‘In a Landscape of Winter,’ whose epic orchestral elements truly transport you to another world, a bleak and cold one at that. In a Landscape of Winter sounds like it could belong in a video game soundtrack in a scene where a major battle is about to take place and the next track, ‘Blown away by the Winter.’ is the soundtrack to that battle. This song is the first real taste you get of Revenience. It’s’ a dark track with a cool blend of electronic synthesizes and more traditional orchestral sounds.
‘Shamble’ is the band’s first single and I can see why they chose it to be. It’s a track with a lot of energy and also happens to be the most cohesive song on the record. As you listen to it you feel like you’re going on an exciting quest. Furthermore, the piano and enchanting melodies really add some raw emotion to the track. Because of songs like Shamble, Deadalum is both a a moving and memorable listening experience and this may also be because of the cinematic elements to the music. Furthermore, the first time I listened to the record in full I felt so excited and as if I was going somewhere important. It was truly thrilling because of songs like ‘A-Maze,’ which have strong visual lyrics that create exciting images in your head while also touching your soul because of the emotional piano. This song has a real ballad like quality that for some reason symphonic metal acts are very good at writing, however.
While this is a good album, you can tell that the band has a long way to go defining their sound and this is in part, because they haven’t quite yet defined their sound. In the beginning of my review I described them to obtain a whole host of metal styles in their music and having them all mixed up together doesn’t always work. It’s also the reason why many of their songs come across as fragmented because they don’t have a good solid sound. Revenience really need to work on this for their next album otherwise they could be in danger of getting lost in the endless stream of female fronted gothic metal bands. Which is a shame because they do have something really unique going on in their music that’s fresh and exciting. The album does end on a high note with the grand, ‘Shadows and Silence’ which brings this quest to a close.
Overall, Deadalum is an enjoyable enough album. You can seriously feel the passion and the chemistry between the band and what’s even better is that they actually manage to make music that moves you such as the piano ballad, ‘Lone Island’. There’s also an incredible display of guitar work on here with lots of intricate riffs and ferocious shredding. And If you’re a fan of the classic symphonic metal acts like Nightwish or the more obscure gothic metal bands like Sirenia then you will more than likely appeal to you.
Track list:
- In a Landscape of Winter
- Blown Away by the Wind
- Shamble
- Flail
- Lone Island
- A-Maze
- Not My Choice
- Revenant
- Shadows and Silence
Playing Time: 40:00
Label: Sliptrickrecords
Website: http://www.revenience.net/
]]>Aborted’s weapon of choice is the guitar which is the driving force behind their rendition of extreme metal. The album starts off with an instrumental 30 second track, ‘Liberate Me Ex-Infernis’ which immediately creates an unsettling atmosphere before plunging into the brutal title track. From the get go you can see just how much the band have matured and the slick production enhances the sound. The title track is comprised of blisteringly fast riffs and intense breakdowns. The contrasts gives the song diversity and power. Other tracks on the record offer similar song structures and it times they can get a little repetitive, however. Considering that this is an EP which is celebrating the band’s career so this fact can be overlooked as every other element of the EP is spot on.
You’ve got to turn the music up loud to fully appreciate what Aborted have to offer on the EP. As is typical with tech death there’s so many layers that the music verges on progressive. Yes it’s dark music but also incredibly beautiful at times and the EP acts as a showcase of the band’s amazing talent for songwriting. Aborted have created four incredibly complex tracks that are so intricate, yet explosive and powerful. Furthermore, Termination Redux is the perfect way for such a great band to celebrate their career and hopefully they’ll be many more years of deliciously grizzly death metal from Aborted to come. Moreover, if their latest EP is anything to go by, then they’ll produce stronger and better quality albums than ever better than before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10lUL6CxBQ
Track listing:
1. Liberate Me Ex Infernis
2. Termination Redux
3. Vestal Disfigurement Upon the Sacred Chantry
4. Bound in Acrimony
5. The Holocaust-Re Incarnate
Playing Time: 15.00
Release Date: 15th January 2016
Label: Century Media
]]>Fleshgod Apocalpse have always been a death metal band that incorporated orchestral elements into their music but now with KING, they present to the listener a true form of symphonic death metal. While they may be combining two completely different genres, when done right they work really well. The album starts off with an epic instrumental track titled, ‘Marche Royale,’ which sounds like a piece of music you’d hear in a film before a battle scene. Marche Royale eventually leads into the catastrophic, ‘In Aeternum,’ a heavy composition featuring some awesome dual guitar work and great melody. While guitars are still the main driving force of the music the orchestral elements have become much more significant and also, though KING may not be as heavy as their previous work, the music is much more complex. Everything from the song structure to the lyrics.
Though the album is not strictly a concept album, it’ is heavily based around a narrative concept. According to the band’s vocalist, Tomasso Riccardi, the story is based around a court during the renaissance period, between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, and each song is focused on the different characters that are found in the court. For instance, the first single of the album, “The Fool,” looks at the fool in the court which was supposedly a role in the court that was being lost. The Fool represents the new album perfectly and is why the band decided it should be the first single.
If you’re already well equipped with the sounds of Fleshgod Apocalypse, you can hear how much they’ve matured since their 1st release, Oracles. They’re much better song writers which you can here in tracks like “Mitra” and “Healing Through War” which both have cohesive song structures and are kept tightly nipped. Complexity also comes in the form of diversity and this time round, the Italian death metal giants have experimented more which ultimately leads to a better listening experience. From more melody, more symphonic elements to even a traditional opera track featured on the record, ‘Paramour (Die Leidenschaft Bringt Leiden).
There aren’t many flaws and it’s a nearly perfect listening experience. Anyone from a Nightwish fan to a Cannibal Corpse veterinarian could enjoy this album. The first thing that came to mind when I was listening to the album is Carach Angren’s latest album, This is No Fairytale, however. It’s a lot lighter than that. Fans who like Fleshgod Apocalypse and are into them because of the technical death metal elements might be left feeling disappointed because of how light their music is this time round in comparison to their old work. Of course it still fits into the death metal sub category but it’s nothing like the phenomenal tracks, “Thru our Scars” or “As Tyrants Fall.” The song “Gravity,” which was the album’s second single is the weakest track on the album because it doesn’t really go anywhere. Fleshgod Apocalypse are usually good at bringing a track together in some epic way but it’s just anti climatic.
However, I personally love the new direction the band are taking. They’ve seriously got it right with the symphonic death metal style and the new album is a great addition to their already impressive discography. The band have really proved why they are slowly becoming one of the biggest names in extreme metal with KING.
1. Marche Royale
2. In Aeternum
3. Healing through War
4. The Fool
5. Cold as perfection
6. Mitra
7. Paramour (Die Leidenschaft Bringt Leiden)
8. And the Vulture Beholds
9. Gravity
10. A Million Deaths
11. Syphillis
12. King
Playing time: 1.47
Record Label: Nuclear Blast
Website: http://shop.fleshgodapocalypse.com/
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Black Sheep is driven by a grungy, Alice in Chains style 90s post-rock with a nu-metal, Soil esque twist and soft, ballad edges and they start off the album with the ferocious, “Breaking Out.” The track shows off lead vocalist, Tarrin Kerrey’s fierce vocals and her amazing range while also letting the listener know what to expect from the rest of the album which is just straight up, in your face metal. There’s no fancy, intricate riffing going on, it’s just simple chord progression but the fast tempo gives the song a real oomph and the power chords add real power to the music to it. Kerrey often shares vocals with guitarist, Nick Magee such as in “Pretty Girl” which adds more heaviness and a metal edge to the songs. “Empty” has a more nu-metal vibe and the style is also reminiscent of Lacuna Coil’s earlier stuff. Additionally, the song has cheesy but relatable lyrics as is the same with the majority of lyrics on the record. Don’t expect any deeply inspiring lyrics here.
Sanguine prove on their second album that they’re a dynamic band and are willing to experiment with different styles. Both ‘Carousel’ and ‘Breathe Out’ are more slow paced songs and have a ballad feel to them. Carousel is a song that sees the band utilizing more complex harmonies and song structure with the main melody mirroring old carousel music. Furthermore, the lyrics and music together present the more emotive side of the band. Breathe Out is a standard rock ballad with beautiful acoustic guitar and Kerrey’s voice which usually has strength and heaviness to it, is soft and tranquil at times.
The album finishes completely differently to how it began with another slower number, “The Blue,” whose raw emotion gives the song real impact. The best thing about Black Sheep is the different range of styles that appear across the album. Because Sanguine are constantly changing it up you’re always engaged and wanting to go onto listen because you’ll never get bored of hearing the same sound. There are two major flaws with the album, however. Firstly that it feels a bit too short, I would have liked to have heard material from the band. Lastly the actual production is a bit sketchy and the sound could be better at times. Overall though, it’s a decent album. Again, Sanguine are a band with a lot of potential but they need to refine their style and work on their production before they can real break out.
Track listing:
1. Breaking Out
2. Pretty Girl
3. Empty
4. Save me
5. Carousel
6. Breathe Out
7. Black Sheep
8. Social Decay
9. The Blue
10. Whole World
Play time: 37:00
Release date: 29th January 2016
Record Label: Red Rock Productions
Website: http://www.sanguineband.co.uk/
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